Feed Your Soul at War Streets Art Salon

PHOTO COURTESY OF WAR STREETS ART SALON

The menu at Clarise Fearn’s Central North Side business includes charcoal, air-dry clay, floral candlesticks and watercolors.

Come hungry — for a creative experience.

War Streets Art Salon operates like a restaurant, complete with a reservation system, attentive servers, soft lighting and vintage glassware, but instead of filling your belly with food, it feeds your soul with hands-on projects. The place is, however, BYOB.

In 2024, Fearn opened the studio to provide adults with an alternative to the bar scene. The space, located on the second floor of a Victorian house in the Mexican War Streets neighborhood, can accommodate up to 18 people and all of the supplies are provided. It’s a popular spot for couples, bachelorette parties and solo crafters.

Fearn, a certified social and emotional arts facilitator, also worked in the service industry.

The Vermont native learned about the healing power of the arts from her grandmother, an acrylic painter. She encourages her guests to follow their curiosity, break rules, make a mess and throw out preconceived notions of what’s good art and what’s bad art.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WAR STREETS ART SALON

Unlike a traditional paint-and-sip class run by an instructor giving step-by-step instructions, the salon’s Creative Cafe sessions, offered Thursday through Sunday, allow people to select from a dozen projects and work at their own pace. Some activities come with a prompt card for inspiration, but attendees are encouraged to let their imaginations run wild. After two hours, they check out just like they would at their favorite eatery.

A few times a month, Fearn offers facilitated workshops, classes and club meet-ups at the West North Street building, which is affectionately known as “Berta.” From floral arranging to junk journaling, the events are an analog escape from the hi-tech world. Everything from the furniture to the tea cups to the candelabras was purchased at thrift stores. The large windows overlook Allegheny Commons Park. It’s a vibe.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Although the Salon isn’t necessarily curated for young children, she hopes to add a kids’ menu and designated time slots soon.

Since the Salon isn’t ADA-accessible, Fearn does pop-ups throughout the city to give more people a chance at some low-key crafting time. The next one is on April 15 at Lawrenceville Market House on Butler Street in Lawrenceville. Fearn also operates a traveling craft bar for off-site, workshop-style parties where guests learn the process behind one specific project. The second-floor salon can also be booked for private events.

Every week, Fearn is a guest facilitator at the North Side’s Light of Life Rescue Mission. During the pandemic, she earned her emotional arts certification online through the UCLA Chancellor’s Arts Initiative, giving her trauma-informed skills to help people express their complex feelings through art.

“Art is such a powerful tool for teaching us about what we value and how we can grow,” says Fearn, whose paintings hang on the walls of the Salon. “It helps you move through things.”

War Streets Art Salon is at 502 West North Ave., Second Floor, Central North Side